What's good for Clinton is not good for Minton. Both have
received a Charlemagne Award.

Bill the President received the international award and Bob
the Banker received the alternative award. The former from
the hands of Aachen Mayor Juergen Linden, the latter one
day later in Leipzig from Ursula Caberta.

To keep things in perspective, this Alternative Charlemagne
Award has something to do with Scientology. Not only
that, but Caberta is the Director of the Hamburg Interior
Agency's work group which is involved exclusively with
that controversial organization.

At the same time, she is also a prominent member of the
"European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights
and Religious Freedom in the USA" which is backing this
award. And why, of all people, to Robert S. Minton, who
people call "Bob"? Answer: because the Scientologists
obviously see someone who has grown into an opponent
who is to be taken seriously in this U.S. millionaire
businessman. From his perspective, Scientology's being a
"totalitarian movement," thereby "working against
democracy," appears to be less momentous than the fact
that he has to carry on his battle against Scientology in the
USA himself. Over there virtually limitless tolerance is
applied to all possible movements, religious or otherwise.

Scientologists have had to live with the resistance from
Germany for years. The success of the information
campaigns of sect commissioners and - not least of all -
Ursula Caberta can be measured not only by the number of
people leaving Scientology, but also by the organization's
apparently poor financial situation. "They are practically
bankrupt and can only keep their heads above water with
financial injections from the USA," said Caberta recently at
an Interior Agency press conference in which Bob Minton
also lambasted the image presented by Scientology of
"peace, joy and cupcakes." He said that Scientology was
anything but a church, was cynical and would destroy
anyone who got in its way.

After Minton said that, it rained Scientology press releases
and a flood of open letters was directed at the Interior
Agency. All with one goal: to discredit Minton and Caberta
with him. That is one of the methods which Scientology has
for handling discussion.

For instance, Minton was accused of being an
"unscrupulous money-grubber" who "personally lined his
pockets with several tens of millions of dollars under the
regime of the former military dictatorship in Nigeria - while
the population starved."

Kurt Weiland, chief of Scientology's intelligence agency,
which they call "Office for Special Affairs (OSA)," did not
let the opportunity slip to write Hamburg Interior Senator
Hartmuth Wrocklage from Los Angeles and demand that
Caberta be dismissed. He said that what she was doing
was a "continuation of the Inquisition"; he said she hunted
people down, destroyed their existence and was bringing
shame, not only upon Hamburg, but upon all of Germany.
He said that Caberta, who "gave con-men like Robert
Minton the seal of approval from the Hamburg Interior
Agency" was "out of place."

Minton does not dispute having discretely and for a profit
bought back, with a partner, $4.5 billion of foreign debt on
commission of the Nigerian administration. Nor that they
made a profit with a nominal value of 1 percent ($45
million).

What he does not agree with are: the numbers being cited
far in excess of that, assertions that anything was fraudulent,
that he is being investigated in any way, that bank accounts
have been closed or that he profited from oil prices which
rose during the Gulf War. He will do in Germany what he
has already done in France - sue Scientology for slander.

All that, however, is only coincidental to the members and
supporters of the Alternative Charlemagne Award
committee. For them, only one thing counts: Bob Minton is
better suited than Bill Clinton for being publicly recognized
for supporting freedom of opinion and a democratic
life-style. Specifically, they disagree with Clinton's "liberal"
attitude towards Scientology.

Ursula Caberta also finds that the President, in the twilight
of his term, "gives the impression" of being a "Scientology
puppet." Bob Minton, on the other hand, was said not to
share the President's "strange predilection."